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Mounted search and rescue
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Mounted search and rescue
Mounted search and rescue (MSAR) is a specialty within search and rescue (SAR), using horses as search partners and for transportation to search for missing persons. SAR responders on horseback are primarily a search resource, but also can provide off-road logistics support and transportation. Mounted SAR responders can in some terrains move faster on the ground than a human on foot, can transport more equipment, and may be physically less exhausted than a SAR responder performing the same task on foot. Mounted SAR responders typically have longer initial response times than groundpounder SAR resources, due to the time required to pick up trailer, horse(s), and perhaps also water, feed, and equipment.
Principally volunteer units exist in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Iceland.
In the United States, many counties have specially deputized, usually volunteer, mounted search and rescue groups. Some of these groups date from World War II.[citation needed] Across the United States, SAR groups are in the process of organizing themselves into associations, usually within states.[citation needed] Formal guidelines for MSAR have been established in several states: California, New Mexico, Maine, Maryland, and Virginia. International standards for the mounted searcher have been developed through the ASTM F32 committee for Search and Rescue.
In Germany, the voluntary humanitarian association Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (JUH) recently begun establishing local and regional groups that provide first responder services on horseback. These are modeled after the road-based first aid service of the JUH, except that the horse provides for off-road travel.[citation needed] The first group, established in March 2001 in Harburg, adopted standards of the Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung (FN) for first responders at equestrian field sporting events. In 2008, there were 8 groups. Around the same time the German Red Cross briefly recognized a group with a similar function.[citation needed]
A search and rescue horse is a horse trained and used to perform mounted search and rescue. In many cases, the horse is simply a means of transportation for a SAR responder. In other cases, the horse is a full member of the SAR field team. Like a SAR dog, a SAR horse can be trained to search for lost persons, using its keen senses of hearing, scenting, and vision. In addition, some mounted SAR responders work a SAR dog from horseback.
The primary role of Mounted SAR is in the "search" capacity. Riders and horses are normally trained to safely and effectively perform the search function. Riders have training as searchers that includes the detection and protection of clues that may lead to locating the missing person. The mounts used are expected to be calm and reliable.
A common training for searchers mounted on equine is "Look where the horse looks." While there is training available to have the horse or mule perform similarly to a SAR Dog, the majority of Mounted SAR equine and their riders do not have this training. However, the equine's natural senses and behavior are valuable during a search, without particular training, making that animal a viable search partner for clue detection. The horse or mule exhibits behavior to indicate noting "something" as part of that animal's natural behavior, and the rider determines if the equine may have noted the presence of a person who may be the missing person, or a clue that might help lead to that person.
Some Mounted SAR riders have additional training specific to searching for clues from the saddle. This valuable skill allows the mounted searcher to move more quickly riding when the clues, such as shoe prints, are visible from the saddle. Riders dismount as needed when a closer view or tracking while walking is more advantageous.
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Mounted search and rescue
Mounted search and rescue (MSAR) is a specialty within search and rescue (SAR), using horses as search partners and for transportation to search for missing persons. SAR responders on horseback are primarily a search resource, but also can provide off-road logistics support and transportation. Mounted SAR responders can in some terrains move faster on the ground than a human on foot, can transport more equipment, and may be physically less exhausted than a SAR responder performing the same task on foot. Mounted SAR responders typically have longer initial response times than groundpounder SAR resources, due to the time required to pick up trailer, horse(s), and perhaps also water, feed, and equipment.
Principally volunteer units exist in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Iceland.
In the United States, many counties have specially deputized, usually volunteer, mounted search and rescue groups. Some of these groups date from World War II.[citation needed] Across the United States, SAR groups are in the process of organizing themselves into associations, usually within states.[citation needed] Formal guidelines for MSAR have been established in several states: California, New Mexico, Maine, Maryland, and Virginia. International standards for the mounted searcher have been developed through the ASTM F32 committee for Search and Rescue.
In Germany, the voluntary humanitarian association Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (JUH) recently begun establishing local and regional groups that provide first responder services on horseback. These are modeled after the road-based first aid service of the JUH, except that the horse provides for off-road travel.[citation needed] The first group, established in March 2001 in Harburg, adopted standards of the Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung (FN) for first responders at equestrian field sporting events. In 2008, there were 8 groups. Around the same time the German Red Cross briefly recognized a group with a similar function.[citation needed]
A search and rescue horse is a horse trained and used to perform mounted search and rescue. In many cases, the horse is simply a means of transportation for a SAR responder. In other cases, the horse is a full member of the SAR field team. Like a SAR dog, a SAR horse can be trained to search for lost persons, using its keen senses of hearing, scenting, and vision. In addition, some mounted SAR responders work a SAR dog from horseback.
The primary role of Mounted SAR is in the "search" capacity. Riders and horses are normally trained to safely and effectively perform the search function. Riders have training as searchers that includes the detection and protection of clues that may lead to locating the missing person. The mounts used are expected to be calm and reliable.
A common training for searchers mounted on equine is "Look where the horse looks." While there is training available to have the horse or mule perform similarly to a SAR Dog, the majority of Mounted SAR equine and their riders do not have this training. However, the equine's natural senses and behavior are valuable during a search, without particular training, making that animal a viable search partner for clue detection. The horse or mule exhibits behavior to indicate noting "something" as part of that animal's natural behavior, and the rider determines if the equine may have noted the presence of a person who may be the missing person, or a clue that might help lead to that person.
Some Mounted SAR riders have additional training specific to searching for clues from the saddle. This valuable skill allows the mounted searcher to move more quickly riding when the clues, such as shoe prints, are visible from the saddle. Riders dismount as needed when a closer view or tracking while walking is more advantageous.
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